


Time

by Perry_Downing



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Vader's castle, What if they actually talked to each other?, mustafar love nest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-09-26 15:10:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17144063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perry_Downing/pseuds/Perry_Downing
Summary: “Please.”For a moment he thinks she’s going to take his hand, give him the welcome into her heart that he craves.“I don’t want to rule. I don’t want any of it. I never have.”Oh. Of  course. Of course she doesn’t want him. How foolish and stupid can he be? He should have known not to dream, not to trust.But then she ignites him with her words. “I only want you.”---What if Rey and Kylo/Ben actually talked to each other instead of leading with their fear and doubt? Let's give these crazy kids some time to work it all out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Poppi Willow (Poppi_Willow)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poppi_Willow/gifts).



> This is a gift to our Waffle House Queen, PoppiWillow. She is a truly beautiful soul and I'm grateful for her sun in my life.

“ _ Please _ .”

 

He needs her to say yes, he’ll give anything, anything at all.  _ Here, here is the galaxy, just please say yes. _

 

For a moment he thinks she’s going to take his hand, give him the welcome into her heart that he craves.

 

But no … her eyes cloud and her lip quivers. She’s going to reject him. Oh, gods, it already hurts more than his parents’ abandonment. She said he wasn’t alone …

 

“Ben,” she whispers and her eyes sear into his. ‘Ben,” she repeats and he thinks the hope might burn him to ash.

 

“I don’t want to rule. I don’t want any of it. I never have.”

 

Oh. Of  course. Of  _ course  _ she doesn’t want him. How foolish and stupid can he be? He should have known not to dream, not to trust.

 

He gasps when her hand curls around his, leaving him confused and broken. This might be his last chance to touch her. He wishes he weren't wearing his gloves. But then she ignites him with her words. “I only want you.”

 

“What?” he murmurs, certain he hadn’t heard her correctly. 

 

“Just let my friends go and then we can talk. I don’t want to rule the galaxy, the republic. I just want to belong.”

 

“You do, gods, Rey, you do.” He drops the saber he used to worship then takes his now free hand and pounds at his chest. “Right here, you belong. I think you always have.”

 

“And you’ll let them go?” Her tone is so plaintive.

 

He freezes for a moment. Is this a trap? Is he being manipulated once again? Snoke had promised him everything, only to treat him like a beaten dog. His relentless lightening sizzling across every nerve ending in his body. Would Rey … does she want to be his new master?

 

Her eyes fly open and she exclaims, “No! Ben … no. I just have to live with myself. I can’t do that if I let my friends die.”

 

Slowly, he nods and decides he doesn’t care. As long as he has Rey, nothing else matters. “How … how did you know what I was thinking?”

 

Her lips quirk in a small smile. “Later. I’ll tell you everything later, but now, please … save my friends?” 

 

Her words hurt. He wants to be her everything, the way that she’s his entire universe. But … this is how he buys time. Time with Rey.

 

\---

 

“What  _ happened _ ?” the ginger irritant asks as he sweeps into Snoke’s now destroyed chambers. 

 

“I followed the long-held tradition of the Sith. I killed my master and ascended.”

 

He can feel Rey’s shock through their tenuous connection. Is that how she knew what he was thinking? Does she already know how he feels about her?

 

His cheeks burn at the thought. He doesn’t want her to know, it’s his to share. She should hear it from his lips that he …

 

“You expect me to follow  _ you _ ?!” Hux exclaims, incredulity dripping from his tone.

 

He’s about to respond, finally,  _ finally  _ choke the infuriating bastard, when Hux’s hands fly to his throat, scrabbling at unseen fingers.

 

Rey, gorgeous, luminous Rey stalks towards his nemesis, her hand held in an outstretched claw. “He expects you to follow  _ him _ .”

 

Hux gasps out, “The Supreme Lead-”

 

“Is dead,” she snarls.

 

“Long live the Supreme Leader,” Hux chokes out. Rey’s hand falls and Hux follows, clutching at the ground.

 

Ben can’t help the gloating smile that takes over his expression. He crouches down and cocks his head so that he may take in all of Hux’s downfall. As if on cue, one of the First Order support ships begins to fire on the fleeing transports, taking up the assault now that the  _ Supremacy _ is done for. 

 

Holding Hux’s pale eyes, Ben orders, “Call off the attack on the Resistance transports.”

 

“Yes, Supreme Leader,” he manages through his ruined throat, his eyes gleaming with suspicion. Then he struggles to his feet. “Supreme Leaders …”

 

Rey catches his eyes and he sees the hint of satisfaction there. Yes, he’s made the right decision. 

 

He isn’t Snoke’s. He’s not the new Vader. He isn’t even Ben Solo. Not yet. 

 

He’s Rey’s.

 

\---

 

The bombardment stops and he watches the tension in Rey’s shoulders ebb away. He thinks he could simply gaze on her for hours. But then the  _ Supremacy _ groans under his boots and it pulls him from his reverie.

 

“Rey …” He wants to just say her name over and over again. It feels like a plea, a promise.

 

She turns and looks at him just as the ship rocks again.

 

“We have to go.” Hesitantly, he walks up to her and again holds out his hand. A small smile pulls at her lips and it makes his heart beat faster. He’s never seen her smile before.

 

She twines her fingers with his and looks at him expectantly. The feel of her small hand in his, the fledgling trust flowing between them, he wants to hold her. He wants to get lost forever in the sensation of her warmth through the leather of his gloves.

 

But now is not the time. “This way.” he coaxes as he pulls her towards Snoke’s ship. The thought of using that disgusting monster’s escape craft makes his skin crawl, but there’s nothing to be done about it.

 

\---

 

“Now what?” she asks. They’re in the cockpit of the most ridiculously ostentatious escape vessel he’s ever seen. It’s more like a luxury cruiser than something so utilitarian as a ship meant for saving lives. 

 

“I … I don’t know.”

 

Just then the comms come alive and that nassely voice he’d prefer to never hear again crackles through the ship. “Supreme Leader, we’ve successfully transported all personnel to support ships and are preparing to land on Crait.”

 

“No!” Rey gasps and Ben holds up his hand but she shakes her head frantically. Ben mutes the connection and Rey rushes to say, “You can’t! Let them go, please.”

 

“I know, I know. Give me a moment to think.”

 

If he doesn’t consent to Hux’s plans he’s going to seem weak, but if he does he’ll lose Rey. He could … keep her. Court her the way he’d been dreaming of since she’d first crashed into his life …. but no, she’d never be his, not the way he wants her to be.

 

“Just buy them time, Ben. That’s all I ask.”

 

Something about how she keeps calling him ‘Ben’ soothes him, centers him. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard her call him anything else. He prays he never gives her reason to.

 

Time. He can buy them time.

 

“Hux,” he sneers into the comm. 

 

“Yes, sir?” Hux sneers right back.

 

“It’s time to regroup. We’ve had heavy losses and the Resistance is all but defeated. They can’t have more than a few hundred members and they’ve lost their fleet. We regroup and let them die out.”

 

“Are you sure that’s wise,  _ Supreme Leader _ ?”

 

“Do I think it’s wise to take a moment to mourn Supreme Leader Snoke and reevaluate in light of such a monumental change? Yes, I think that’s  _ wise _ .” Gods, he hates Hux.

 

“As you command,  _ sir _ . We’ll see you at the rendezvous point.”

 

Ben doesn’t even bother to respond, switching off the comm.

 

Rey’s eyes are huge with some emotion he can’t define. Much like their connection came and went, he’s not able to feel her feelings with any regularity.

 

Shakily, she stands from the co-pilot’s seat and comes toward him. He breathes in sharply as her fingers brush along the sensitive skin of his inner wrist and she starts to remove his glove. Slowly, she unpeels the leather, holding his eyes the whole time.

 

Oh … oh, Maker … he’d only felt her fingertips across the light years, but this … her hand is sliding over his hand and her thin fingers lace through his. It’s almost unbearably intimate when their palms touch; it’s as if their hands are merging. 

 

Their eyes meet and he feels himself leaning towards her. She’s standing over him so he has to look up. He gasps as her thumb moves across the skin of the back of his hand, trailing a new feeling in its wake. Being touched like this, gentle and full of promise, it’s almost too much and he stands quickly. But he doesn’t let her hand go.

 

Now he’s towering over her. He should be used to that, but somehow it’s different, looking down on Rey. She suddenly seems fragile, though he knows she’s the strongest person he’s ever met. She’s made of fire and steel, yet right now her eyes are full of trepidation and he wants to wrap his large frame around her. He’ll make sure she never has to be afraid of anyone or anything ever again.

 

“What is it?” he asks, so softly.

 

“I … I don’t know. I don’t know what to feel about any of this. It all made so much sense when I left Luke—but now … I need to know … am I your prisoner?”

 

Her words tear through him. The mention of Luke, that he’s just done everything she asked and she still doubts him. He rips his hand from hers and stalks to the other side of the cockpit, putting his back to her.

 

“Ben!”

 

“What?” he answers shortly.

 

“You’re angry,” she states coaxingly.

 

He scoffs. “No, Rey … no.” He’s  _ hurt _ .

 

“Then … what?”

 

He whirls around and nearly spits, “You asked if you’re my prisoner!”

 

“You just said we were going to meet  _ them _ .” He sees a streak of her fire and, oh, how it stokes something forbidden within him.

 

“Of course I did!” How else was he supposed to get the First Order to leave the Resistance be?

 

She shakes her head slowly. “Has this all been a trick?”

 

“No! I did what you asked!” How can she even think that?

 

“You did, but … I thought you understood that I don’t want to join the First Order.”

 

“What? Of course I know that. What else was I supposed to do!”

 

“Wait, stop … what  _ are _ we doing?”

 

“I don’t know! You said we’d talk. I thought we’d decide together. I didn’t mean we would actually rendezvous with them!”

 

Her eyebrows arch and she grows a bit sheepish. “Oh.”

 

“Yeah.  _ Oh _ .” He thrusts his hand roughly through his hair. “Rey … why would you think I would do that? I thought … I thought we …” He trails off and the extremely familiar sense of failure and idiocy courses through him. He never gets it right, why would he when it feels like it matters more than anything?

 

“Well, how was I supposed to just trust you! I came to you and you brought me to be tortured!”

 

He clenches his eyes shut in pain, trying to push away the truth of her words, the memory of her heartbreaking screams. Staying on his knees as Snoke had ripped into her mind had been the hardest thing he’s ever done. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he utters lowly, keeping his gaze averted.

 

“I thought … I thought … and then you met me with stormtroopers and binders …” It’s her turn to let her words just peter out. 

 

Cautiously, he looks up and finds her holding herself tightly, her body angled slightly away. The tears in the corner of her eyes makes him see just what he’d done, how he’d betrayed her faith in him.

 

“I didn’t think he’d hurt you. I … I thought your screams would tear me in two.”

 

She nods once but doesn’t turn towards him. “Was I wrong to have come?” she whispers.

 

“No!” he almost yells before containing himself. “No … but why … why  _ did  _ you come?”

 

She turns to face him fully but keeps her arms wrapped around her abdomen. “Because … because you told me I’m not alone,” she says with a shuddering voice, shrugging slightly.

 

Her face is open, her eyes pleading and he digs down deeply, finding the tattered remains of his courage. “You aren’t alone … for as long as I breathe, you won’t ever be alone again.”

 

“You mean that?”

 

“If it’s what you want … if  _ I’m  _ what you want, I do.”

 

Shakily, they both start to close the distance and his arms tremble to hold her. What would she feel like, held in his arms the way he yearns to? Not unconscious and his enemy, but responsive and present and  _ hi _ s _.  _

 

From the moment he had to let her go after Takodana he’s yearned to feel her again, hold her eyes and tangle his fingers in her hair. To kiss her …

 

Soon, they’re only inches apart and the hazel of her eyes sparkle with something he hopes means she feels a fraction of what he’s feeling. Slowly, so slowly he opens his arms and time stretches. No moment has ever been so long as waiting for her rejection.

 

But she doesn’t, instead she flows into his arms and he can’t help the needful little sound that escapes him as he finally has her held tightly to his chest. Every one of his angles finds a home in her curves and he sighs with this new feeling of completion.

 

Slowly, he raises his ungloved hand and begins card his hand through the ends of her hair. Then he cups the back of her head and draws back ever-so-slightly, needing to see her eyes.

 

He finds them full of something akin to awe and her warmth weaves through him. She feels it too, this rightness.

 

“Oh …. Rey …” he all but moans.

 

“Ben, Ben, Ben,” she chants.

 

Words become meaningless as they fall into each other’s eyes, the Force flowing through them, singing its joy.

 

Balance.

 

\---

 

A shrill beeping sound pulls them from their contentment and Ben hisses his annoyance. He’s not ready to let her go!

 

But it continues and they both frown as they’re forced to untangle from each other. The urge to kiss her is overwhelming; his hands curl and uncurl with the need to keep touching her.

 

“All the First Order vessels have left; they’re safe,” Rey sighs out as she checks the read-out. The sharp alarm ceases it’s screaming.

 

He should take his own seat, but instead he follows his instincts and comes behind her, bending over and burying his face at the crook of her neck. He breathes her in and once again, he can’t keep the begging, desperate sounds from escaping him. The draw to her is the most powerful feeling he’s ever experienced, like she’s his sun and all he can do is orbit her.

 

Boldly, he finds a sliver of her exposed skin and kisses her neck tenderly. She whimpers and leans her head back, giving him more access. He knows they need to decide where to go, but the silken column of her throat beckons to him far too enticingly.

 

He begins to kiss and nibble along her perfect, sun-kissed skin until he finds the delicate lobe of her ear. Allowing instinct to drive him, he pulls it between his lips and sucks gently. The throaty moan that rewards him makes him want more; everything she’ll give him, he wants it.

 

“Ben?” she asks with a breathy voice.

 

“Mmmmhmm,” he hums out, moving back down her throat, tasting her delicious skin. “W-we need to find a place to go.”

 

Her reasonable suggestion breaks him from his lust-addled trance.  _ What is he doing _ ?! He doesn’t even really know what she wants from him and now he’s pawing at her like a needy  _ boy _ .

 

Stiffly, he stands and takes the pilot’s seat. “I-I’m sorry for manhandling you like that. I never even asked, I just … I just …” His hands flail helplessly. How can he possibly explain that he’s never  _ wanted _ anyone like this before? That his body and soul are screaming at him to touch her and never let her go? She’d probably lock herself in Snoke’s ridiculous bed chamber.

 

“You just what?” she nudges.

 

He can’t look at her. “I just … I’ve never felt like this before … needed another person like this. I didn’t even find out what you wanted …”

 

“Ben,” she says softly.

 

He just shakes his head, feeling like a base animal.

 

“Ben, look at me.”

 

Cautiously, he lifts his head and finds her eyes so open. “I feel like that too. When we touch … I only want more.”

 

“You do?” he asks, not quite sure he should believe her. But the slow, welcoming smile she gives him leaves no doubt. His lip quirks and he murmurs, “Ah, you do.”

 

She reaches over and tucks a bit of his hair behind his ear. Normally he wouldn't like that. He hates showing his ears. But Rey is touching him and that’s really all that matters.

 

“Now, I suppose we could just stay here for a bit, figure out  _ this _ ,” she says meaningfully as she gestures to the space between them. 

 

Ben looks around  _ Snoke’s _ ship and shudders involuntarily. “No, I don’t want to be in his space for longer than we have to.” But where to go? He can’t take her to a First Order base. He doesn’t want to go there himself. Somehow, everything has changed with Rey’s acceptance of him.

 

He could take her to … would she mind? It’s safe, rarely visited by anyone … it belongs to him … besides, part of him wants to show her. It’s the closest he can ever be to his grandfather and perhaps .. perhaps it’s the only way he can share his history with her.

 

“Do you trust me?” he asks, quite fearful of the answer.

 

She cocks her head and thinks for a moment. “I shouldn’t … but … I do. Yes, Ben. I trust you.”

 

“And I’ll do everything I can to always be worthy of that trust.”

 

Her soft smile makes his chest feel too small for all the feelings she evokes in him. New, wonderful, terribly essential feelings. 

 

“Then I think I have somewhere we can go.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our ridiculous Space Dorks opt to enjoy each other instead of talk it out while my muse indulges in prancing about the Mustafar Love Nest.

“Oh!” Rey gasps as she rises from her seat, almost plastering her face to the viewscreen of Snoke’s escape craft. “I’ve never seen anything like it!” Her exuberant smile makes him feel joy for the first time in his adult life.

 

The lava fields of Mustafar stretch out before them and he can just see the spire of his grandfather’s castle rising in the distance.

 

“Is that where we’re going?” she asks, still shaking with glee.

 

“Yes … it belonged to my grandfather.”

 

She tenses, her excitement dimming, and stutters out,” D-darth Vader?”

 

“Or Anakin Skywalker. I’m beginning to understand much more about him.” The stories of Padmé are quickly coalescing for him. He’d never felt particularly close to her, his grandmother’s part of his history never seeming nearly as important as his grandfather’s. Now though … now he thinks she may have been the key to everything. If Vader had loved Padmé the way he thinks he might love Rey, he would have done far worse than his grandfather if he lost the other half of his soul.

 

He knows it’s all happened so quickly, that perhaps his instincts are wrong, but everything inside him screams that Rey is the answer to a lifetime of questions and endless nights pleading for something to make the pain go away. 

 

As their destination grows closer, Rey frowns and a little furrow grows between her brows. “You … you aren’t trying to turn me, are you?”

 

He pushes down the flare of hurt in his chest. She may trust him, to a point, and there’s still so much to talk about, but her doubt still feels sharp and wrong. “No. I don’t want to change anything about you. Remember what I said on the  _ Supremacy _ . No Sith. No Jedi. Something  _ new _ .”

 

“Then why Darth Vader’s  _ home _ ?” she asks with confusion.

 

“Because it’s  _ my  _ home, now.”

 

Her eyes widen and she looks back at the monolith that’s growing larger as they approach. “It’s huge!” she breathes out. “Has it always been here?”

 

“Grandfather had it built to remind him of his history, I suppose.”

 

“History?”

 

“There have always been two versions of what happened here, but all I know for sure is this was where he lost his wife and became Darth Vader.”

 

“How sad …” Her eyes flit back to the castle. “It’s oddly beautiful.”

 

“Yes … I’ve always found it peaceful. There are very few inhabitants on this planet and the solitude … it’s calming.” 

 

Rey looks over at him and gives him a sad smile. “We’ve both been so alone.”

 

“Not, I hope, any longer?” He can’t imagine ever feeling that emptiness again, not with Rey at his side.

 

Her smile shifts into something open and oddly girlish; he finds his lips pulling into an answering grin.

 

He lands them at the base of the castle and he takes her hands, pulling her up from the co-pilot’s seat. He’d taken off his other glove during the jump to Mustafar and he cups her delicate face with his hand. Stroking his fingers along her cheek, he wants to nuzzle against her obscenely soft skin. 

 

“We’re safe in this place. No one but Snoke knew of it. We can take all the time we need here.”

 

Rey sighs and leans into his hand. “Thank you.”

 

\---

 

“Where are the droids? A place like this must need them to keep it functional.” He’s keeping her close, holding her hand while she looks around keenly.

 

“Oh, they’re about. But when I’m here, I prefer not to endure their chatter. They’re programmed to stay out of sight.”

 

“You don’t like droids?” she asks with a slight frown. 

 

He thinks of how he was practically raised by them and shakes his head, only cryptically saying, “No.”

 

She looks at him curiously but doesn’t press. Gods, he has so much to tell her. To hear from her. He hopes they have a lifetime to share it all, not being able to imagine ever getting enough of her.

 

Guiding her down the long corridor, she takes it all in. “This is amazing, all this old Empire tech …”

 

Ben cocks his head in surprise. “You like history?”

 

Rey scoffs. “Maybe, I don’t really know, but honestly I survived scavenging parts from this era. I’ve just never seen it functional before. It doesn’t look like anything has been updated in at least 30 years.”

 

He suddenly finds himself chuckling at the greedy gleam in her eyes. “Well, don’t go scavenging here.”

 

“Are you kidding? This could feed me for the rest of my life!” she responds with a wry smile as she stops their journey to gaze at a bank of controls.

 

He wants to smile back, but the reminder of her desperate life sobers him immediately. There were only flashes of her daily grind when he’d been in her mind, but it had been enough to show him a hint of her hard, painful life. “I hate that you had to live like that,” he murmurs, rubbing her hand between his.

 

Her bearing closes immediately. “Don’t pity me!” she spits as she starts to pull from him.

 

Holding her hand fast, he rushes to explain, “No, no Rey … it’s not pity. It’s compassion. You never should have had to suffer like that. If I’d only found you sooner …” A fantasy of discovering her when he was a young man spins out in front of him. He would have found her a family, made sure she had everything she could possibly need or want. Somehow, this slim woman has made him want to rewrite the stars.

 

“You found me when we both needed you to. I’m not the only one who struggled,” she utters lowly, her eyes full of empathy.

 

Ben lets out a long, shuddering sigh, thinking of his own mangled past. “You’re right …”

 

“I usually am,” she says with a cheeky grin.

 

“Hmm,” is all he responds with, surprised at how easily she pulls him from his maudlin tendencies. That she’s so at ease with him shocks him deeply. No one has been comfortable in his company in years, yet Rey seems to have really meant that she trusts him. 

 

He urges them forward and they continue to walk.

 

“And here we are,” he offers as he opens the doors to his personal quarters. There are dozens of unused rooms throughout the castle, but these are where he spends what little time he has to himself.

 

Rey looks around the large room, decorated in deep jewel tones and black. It’s far more comfortably appointed than his rooms on First Order vessels. He’d been surprised to find his grandfather had had his home decorated in sumptuous fabrics with large windows. Now he thinks it was because of Padmé; a way to honor her royal ties. 

 

She darts over to the massive view of the lava fields and lets out a little, “Oh …”

 

The look of awe on her face fills him with such affection. Each passing moment with her makes him more aware that all he’s ever truly needed was Rey. Only her presence keeps him from losing himself in his self-loathing as he begins to see just how far he’s fallen. But he’s determined to focus on the future, what is possible now that his purpose is finally making sense.

 

“I always liked to look out this window. There’s something about the vibrancy of the molten rock against the gray skies … I don’t know.”

 

“I understand. All that power and yet no life. It’s a bit unsettling, but also … compelling.”

 

That Rey sees what he does makes him want to scoop her up in his arms and kiss her senseless. She always just seems to  _ understand _ . Walking to her, he stands behind her form, wrapping her in his arms. She sighs contentedly as she leans back into him.

 

He’s again nearly overwhelmed with how right she feels held close, as if they were made to fit together. He’d never given much thought to being with a woman. It just seemed a waste of energy. Now though, now he knows it’s because he’s always been waiting, waiting for  _ Rey. _

 

She stirs him like nothing ever has, making his dreams lurid and his days heightened with arousal. After he’d killed the last guard he’d wanted to stalk over to her and kiss her until they were both dizzy with lust.

 

If he didn’t know better, he would think that she’d drugged him. The hold, the  _ power  _ she has over him should terrify him. Instead, he just wants to give into it. Kneel at her feet and surrender his entire being to her. 

 

The feeling of her moving from his arms makes him panic slightly, he doesn’t want to let her go. But then he realizes she’s only shifting so she can face him. The low light of the room makes her eyes dark and so deep. 

 

“I know we have so much to talk about but … just for tonight, I want … I want to simply  _ be _ . With you.” Her eyes take on an intense heat and he dares to hope she wants him, too. That she’s choosing to be here with him indicates that she feels at least some of what he’s feeling … doesn’t it?

 

There are things he should say, but all he can do is let his eyes roam over her face, drinking in every detail. Though he’d been given time during their connections through the Force to simply look at her, it had never been enough. She’s all he wants to look at. Her fine, sculpted brows, tempting petal-pink lips, fine cheekbones … even her sweet little nose makes his heart swell.

 

His silence stretches and Rey continues, “Everything in my life changed completely not even two weeks ago … and you’re the only thing that makes me feel anchored … safe. When you hold me I feel  _ complete _ . My entire life I’ve felt like a box of broken parts, but here, touching you …”

 

“It makes you feel whole,” he finally responds. “I know exactly what you mean. You’re right, there’s so much for us to discuss, but all I really want to do is hold you.”

 

“Just hold me?” she asks with a teasing quirk of her brows and her insinuation shivers down his spine. 

 

His eyes go wide at her boldness. Because he wants to touch her  _ everywhere _ , taste every inch of her, discover this unknown terrain fully. Her tongue darts out to moisten her lips and a needful groan escapes him.

 

He can’t find the words to explain what he wants, so instead he decides he’ll show her. A wave of pure desire flows through him looking down on Rey, feeling her trim body pressed against him. 

 

Slowly, so slowly, he bends forward, holding her eyes, pleading for her permission through the Force. He’s never done this before, but everything else with her has been so beautiful he manages to tamp down his insecurity.

 

He’s nearly there and her body is trembling in his arms. “Please,” he murmurs and she gives him the slightest of nods as she breathes shallowly.

 

Yes, oh  _ yes _ . He closes the distance and presses his lips to hers. A spark travels between them as he kisses her for the first time. He’s only know her days, and yet it feels as if he’s waited an eternity to capture her lips, and the fire she lit inside him roars to life.

 

He’d meant to be gentle, but she responds so perfectly, flicking her tongue against his lower lip. All he can do is dive into her, delving into her mouth, his passion unleashed. Consume her, he wants to consume her.

 

She tastes  _ divine.  _ Nothing has felt so good as the heat of her mouth as he explores her with his tongue. Their lips move together in some sort of preordained rhythm and a part of him that’s been dying of thirst sucks down as much of her as he can.

 

Never, he’ll never stop kissing her. Her hands tangle in his hair and she moans into his mouth, tugging slightly at his locks. Clenching her even tighter to him he doesn’t care that she can feel how hard she makes him. In fact, he wants her to know, to know just what she does to him. Gods, her mouth!

 

Time ceases to have meaning as he finds he wants,  _ needs  _ more of her and he starts to walk them back to the generous settee behind Rey. When the backs of her legs bump into the plush velvet, they tumble down onto the waiting cushions.

 

The impact breaks them apart for a moment and Ben realizes he’s nestled in the cradle of her hips. In that moment he finally understands just what his body is primed for and he’s trapped in a place of frenzied lust and fear. 

 

He finds her eyes and they’re almost gold with heat. The guttural, wanton groan that falls from his lips almost startles him as she wraps her legs around him.

 

“Rey … oh Rey … tell me, tell me what you want,” he pleads, hoping she’s right here with him.

 

She smiles lazily and her hands once again find his hair. “Food.”

 

Ben blinks, trying to catch up. His erection is pressed against her core and she’s hungry? But then her tummy growls rather spectacularly and he can’t help but laugh at the absurdity.

 

Nipping at her lips, he murmurs, “Well, I would be a poor host indeed if I didn’t feed you.”

 

By now she’s realized what she’s said and her cheeks are positively flaming. “I’m sorry—it’s not that I don’t-”

 

“No, don’t apologize. Time, remember, we have all the time in the galaxy.”

 

Her head tilts to the side and she lets her fingers smooth along his cheek. Oh, how he loves when she touches him. 

 

“Do  you have any idea how you make me feel?” he asks, a bit surprised at his own question.

 

“No,” she sighs out. “But I know how you make me feel.”

 

“Tell me I’m not alone in this, tell me this is real,” he almost begs.

 

Rey’s slight undulations cease and she holds his eyes seriously. “It’s real, Ben. As real as we want it to be.”

 

Her wide open, exquisitely beautiful eyes hold him steady and he knows he’s finally found his home.

 

\---

 

“Now,” he says as he pokes around the cabinets in the kitchen. “I usually have fresh food delivered before I come here, but I’m afraid all we have to eat is-”

 

“Oh my gods!” she exclaims as he looks over his shoulder to find her eyes glowing with anticipation. “Are those freeze dried rations? Real meat? Real vegetables?”

 

“Uhm, yes?” he responds, not sure why she’s so excited for reconstituted food.

 

“Is there … is there dessert?” she asks with a trembling voice.

 

“Of course.” He has a bit of a sweet tooth himself and he’s certain there are several flavors of iced whilk milk in the conservator and a box or two of Nabooian chocolates hidden away. And the rations usually come with something sweet, as well.

 

Her eyes are huge and his stomach sinks as he realizes just why she’s so excited.

 

“Once I was able to barter for real rations, not just portions. It was the best meal I’ve ever had,” she purrs, her expression far away, lost in memory.

 

He can’t help it, his hands clench at the counter in rage before he starts tearing through the rations, looking for the Bantha steak. He even likes that one.

 

“What is it?”

 

His shoulders fall and he sighs. “I only … I wish I had the best delicacies in the galaxy to give you. Not just rations.” There’s just so much he wants to make up for, even though her life of deprivation isn’t his fault.

 

“Hey … Ben … this is wonderful. I lived on quick bread and protein cubes. This … this is real food.”

 

Curling his fists he spits out, “Children shouldn’t live like that.”

 

Before he realizes she’s moved, she’s right in front of him, gazing up into his face. “But they do. And I survived. I  _ survived _ .”

 

Cautiously, he catches her eyes. “Maybe … maybe we can find a way to make sure no child grows up like that.”

 

Rey’s brilliant smile makes his heart beat faster. “Maybe we can.”

 

\---

 

She lounges on the lush cushions, rubbing her belly. “I’m so deliciously full. Thank you, Ben.”

 

“You know that you’ll be full every day, now. Don’t you? I’ll make sure of it.”

 

“Every day?” she asks with an oddly frightened voice.

 

“I … if you want.” He knows he’s moving too fast, but he can’t help it.

 

“I do … I want,” she whispers with liquid eyes. 

 

\---

 

After plying her with chocolates, she lets out a large yawn and his own exhaustion hits him. So much has happened, he can’t even begin to process it. Much as he’d like to lick the chocolate from her lips, he knows they need sleep.

 

He stands gracefully, untangling himself from having Rey in his arms. That’s where she seems to always end up.

 

“Come … you need sleep.” He takes her hand and begins to pull her from his quarters.

 

She yawns again and says, “Sleep sounds amazing, but where are you taking me?” she asks with a hint of concern.

 

Tilting his head questioningly he says, “The guest quarters? They’re right next to mine-”

 

She stops him before they reach his door and takes his face in her hands. “Ben,” she says seriously.

 

Her eyes seem to be trying to tell him something, but he’s not sure what. She’s perfectly safe here, he thought she knew that.

 

“Ben,” she repeats.

 

Now her hands are carding through his hair and oh gods, how is he going to be parted from her? “What is it?” he asks, her eyes full of promise.

 

“Is that really what you want?”

 

Well, no. He thinks it will be physically painful to be parted from her, but he doesn’t dare presume … wait. Is she suggesting … 

 

His eyes nearly fall out of his head and she smiles a deeply feminine smile. “Do you  _ want  _ to sleep alone?”

 

Now she steps even closer and kisses him softly. Any hint of needing sleep leaves him swiftly as he finally understands what she’s asking. 

 

Pulling her to him, he deepens their kiss and finds a hint of that animalistic piece of him that wanted to pin her to the wall in the throne room.

 

For a moment he stops kissing her and growls, “No, no I really don’t.”

 

Her giggle sounds like bells as he sweeps her up into his arms. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this gift for PoppiWillow! One more chapter after this.
> 
> Happy New Year!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to put the 'love' in Mustafar Love Nest.

She wraps her arms around his neck and he’s forcibly reminded of carrying her like this on Takodana, but this is _entirely_ different. When he’d first felt her firm thighs under his fingers, her slight weight in his arms had brought forth alien, confusing, _delicious_ feelings.

 

But _this_ , how her eyes are full of heat and promise, her breathing quick, her lips red from his kisses … his whole body is throbbing with need. He wants nothing between them, nothing but this connection that makes everything he’s ever known pale and meaningless.

 

Her small fingers stroke his face and he pulls her even closer, again finding her lips. She makes a mewling little sound that spurs him to action and he uses the Force to wave open his bedroom door.

 

As soon as he crosses the threshold, the lights flicker on, revealing another room draped in silks and velvets, deep jewel tones softening the stark, black walls. Never ceasing his desperate, frantic kisses, he stalks over to the bed and manages to rein himself in enough to gently seat her on the bed when what he truly wants to do is throw her down and climb on top of her.

 

Her hazel eyes are wide and her face flushed with arousal. He can’t quite believe that she wants him _back_. Is it possible she’s feeling this pull the way he is? Do her hands hunger to feel his skin, her mouth water to taste _him_?

 

Blinking slowly, she reaches for his hands and pulls him to her until he’s standing between her parted knees. His cock is straining against his trousers, almost as if it’s seeking her. She cranes her neck to keep her eyes locked with his as her hands smooth up his thighs and he groans as they come _dangerously_ close to his aching length.

 

But … they still haven’t really talked about what they want. They’ve hinted, talked around it, he’s declared to her that he wants to stay with her as long as she’ll have him … yet, she’s not really said how she feels about him. At least not in a way he knows how to understand, to believe in.

 

After a lifetime of rejection and abandonment, he’s not sure he’d survive if he shared this part of himself with Rey only to have it not mean the same thing to her. To him … well it would mean _everything_. Sealing their bodies together is a promise to him, almost a vow.

 

Slowly, he drops to his knees in front of her; now they’re eye-to-eye and she darts forward swiftly, kissing him deeply. Heat coils in his abdomen, creating a sublime tension within him that just makes him want more, more, more.

 

No … no …. he needs to know. He needs to make _sure_.

 

Breaking the kiss, he pants out harshly, “Rey, wait …”

 

Hurt swirls in her eyes and her brow knits in confusion. “Why, I thought …”

 

Resting his forehead against hers, he gathers her hands in his. “What? Tell me what you thought.”

 

“I … I thought we wanted each other. That you wanted _me_.” Her tone is almost wounded and it strikes at his chest.

 

“I do! Gods, Rey … I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you. I’ve never wanted anyone at all, not until you.”

 

“Then …. I don’t understand.”

 

He sighs deeply, trying to find the words. If this is just physical for her, he’s not sure he could take it. For all he knows she routinely takes men to her bed. A sick feeling of hot jealousy curls through his belly at the thought of anyone else touching her.

 

“I don’t know what you want, not really. You’ve said you want me, I’ve told you I want to be with you … but I don’t know what you _mean_. I just …” He trails off and finally whispers, “I need this to matter.”

 

Rey pulls away slightly and again her eyes flash with hurt. “Of course it would matter … I’ve never … I’ve never _done_ any of this. Men tried, but I never wanted to. I thought there was something wrong with me.” She huffs out a humorless laugh. “But then there was you.” She shrugs helplessly.

 

He pushes away the thrill of knowing she’s as inexperienced as he is and focuses on what really matters. “Tell me, Rey, tell me what you feel. I need to know.”

 

Her cheeks heat and she looks around furtively. “I don’t really know how to explain it. I thought I _had_ … I told you that you make me feel safe. It’s more than that, though. I feel like … I feel like you’re a part of me, that I could never be close enough to you. I always thought I was waiting for my family, but I think … I think I was waiting for _you,_ Ben.”

 

Relief floods him and he’s almost giddy. “I was waiting for you, too,” he breathes out.

 

Suddenly, he’s hit with a wave of the most beautiful, warm and soft feeling. So pure, almost infinite in its joy that it makes him gasp. He looks into her eyes and realizes he’s experiencing what _Rey_ feels … for him.

 

His jaw goes slack as he tries to allow himself to believe that this amazing, perfect creature feels like this for him. Taking her face in his hands, he wraps her in his devotion through the Force and her eyes widen in awe.

 

“For me?”

 

He’s not sure he can speak, his throat tight with the depth of emotion coursing through him, so he just nods. A luminous smile breaks across her face and then she flings her arms around him, kissing him, hard and long and deep.

 

Through the Force, Rey’s voice flows through him like honey. “Closer, Ben, closer.”

 

She pulls him back until he’s on top of her as they never stop kissing. Feeling her body beneath his, how they were built to lock together makes him whimper as they unconsciously grind against each other. Somehow, he knows just how to move, and she’s groaning under him in a way that has him frantic to feel more of her.

 

Remembering how enticing her skin tastes, he pulls aside her clothing and sucks at where her neck and shoulder meet, savoring how soft her flesh is. Soon, she’s calling out his name and he can’t think, needing to know more of her.

 

His hands trail up and down her torso and he’s almost bursting with the desire to feel her small breast in his hand. Pulling away from her neck, he finds her eyes as he strokes along her ribs. His voice is rough and unrecognizable as he begs, “Please, Rey … may I touch you?”

 

“Anywhere you want,” she growls out, grabbing his hand and rather forcefully placing it on her soft breast.

 

How can something feel so good? The way it yields yet stays firm in his palm has him utterly fascinated. Then she’s ripping aside the fabric as she tears her own shirt. He doesn’t want to stop kissing her, but he has to _see._

 

His eyes move to the most succulent sight he’s ever beheld. Her breast is pale and round, with a rosy nipple that he wants to feel beneath his tongue. Without really thinking, he descends, capturing the taut point between his lips.

 

They both moan as he lathes the stiffening flesh with his tongue. The texture, her cries, all of it transports Ben to this new land of pleasure and connection. He could be at her breast for hours and he loses himself to sucking and tasting Rey. Dimly, he wonders what it will be like to taste _all_ of her.

 

He’s torn from the decadence of feasting on Rey when she starts to pull at his tunic. “I want to feel you, let me feel you.”

 

With a sloppy pop, he reluctantly releases her breast and moves back up her body. Again, they’ve not said where they want this to go and he holds her eyes intensely. “What are you asking?”

 

“I don’t know!” she whines. “I just need all this cloth gone!” Her face is adorable as it scrunches up in frustration.

 

Oh, how he’d love to see her, all of her. Feel their bodies pressed close … be inside her the way she’s in his heart. But is that what she wants? He can’t quite find the courage to just ask her if she means she wants to share _everything_. All the ways he can think to phrase it just sound crude.

 

She grasps at his belt impatiently, trying to open the closure. “Please! I want to feel your skin against mine!”

 

That’s unambiguous and he’s in hearty agreement. Even if all she wants is to tangle together naked, he’ll happily take it. Gently, he closes his hands over hers and helps her remove his belt, then swiftly pulls his tunic off.

 

As soon as he’s finished, she’s stroking her hands over his bare torso. She swipes at his nipples with her fingers and he gasps out in shock. Energy pulses from his chest down to his cock and he’s not really sure how much more sensation he can take before he has to run to the ‘fresher to relieve this aching tension.

 

He’s only ever taken himself in hand to deal with a basic biologic need. He’d viewed it like eating or breathing, watching nondescript holos then never thinking about it until his body indicated it was time again. But this, this is like fire in his veins and he’s close to begging her to touch him.

 

The hunger in her eyes only grows and she startles him as she swiftly stands. In a few moments she’s kicked off her boots and stripped completely. It takes him only seconds to understand what he’s seeing and he sits up quickly.

 

Standing before him is the most gorgeous sight he’s ever seen. Her body is … it’s all he wants to look at for the rest of his life and he lets out a shuddering breath.

 

She starts to look nervous and begins to hide herself. In a moment he’s on his feet, stopping her from blocking this mind-numbing, _perfect_ view.

 

“Rey, no … please. You’re so beautiful.”

 

Her eyes find his nervously and she drops her arms. “I’ve never … I don’t really know what I look like.”

 

“You look like perfection.” The trepidation in her eyes makes him take her hand and draw her to the mirror in the corner of his bedroom. He stands her in front of it and the picture they make makes his heart stutter in his chest.

 

Her eyes widen as she sees her whole body in a mirror for the first time. His eyes can’t decide where to land, darting between her face, her exquisite breasts, and the torturously tempting thatch of curls at the apex of her thighs. “See? You’re so lovely, so perfect.”

 

The next time his gaze beholds her face his hands tighten on her shoulders. She looks … dismayed.

 

Not able to keep himself from touching her, tasting her, he wraps one arm around her waist and begins to kiss and nibble up her neck. When he reaches her ear he breathes out, “What … what is it, my l- my darling?”

 

“I didn’t know I was so skinny.”

 

“No, no … you’re lithe and strong.” He draws his fingers along her slender arms made of steel. “I’ve seen you fight, I know what you’re capable of. All of you is beautiful.”

 

“But …” Her lips turn in a sad little frown and he just can’t have that.

 

“Truly, Rey. I’ve never seen anything more enticing than your body, nothing more gorgeous than your face, nothing more compelling than your eyes.”

 

“But …” Her eyes clench shut. “I’ve seen holos,” she grumbles.

 

“So have I.”

 

“Then you _know_.”

 

“Know that nothing could compare to you?”

 

She huffs out a frustrated sound. “That they’re so small!”

 

“Oh … oh no …” Holding her eyes in the mirror he draws his knuckles along the sides of her breasts before cupping them in his hands. “They’re the only breasts I’ve ever wanted to touch. To taste.”

 

“How can you know-”

 

He turns her in his arms so swiftly she stops talking and he kisses her firmly, insistently before pulling back to look in her eyes. “I know because I am nearly 30 and no one has ever made me feel like this. Some women tried, but the thought turned my stomach. You, only you.”

 

A dark storm gathers in her eyes. “Other women tried?”

 

“And failed.”

 

She purses her lips then snarls, “Good. Because you’re mine.”

 

His breath catches in his throat. Having her claim him like this … it quiets the voices in his head telling him this is all a dream. “I am. I think I always have been.”

 

Again a whisper of insecurity winds through her fathomless hazel eyes. “And am I ... am I yours?”

 

Her question makes such joy bloom in his chest and all he can do is gather her into his arms, begging into her hair, “Please, please be mine.”

 

“I am, I am, Ben.” Her voice cracks, full of emotion. Then she’s the one to pull away and shyly hold his eyes. “Will you … can we … Oh Ben, please show me that I’m yours.”

 

There’s no doubt what she’s asking and it brings his brain to a stuttering halt. But that insecurity grows in her expression and he cups her face with both his hands. “Yes! Gods, yes. From the moment I saw you, I’ve wanted you. Adored you. More than adored you.”

 

Her brows shoot up. “Do you mean you …”

 

“Yes,” he whispers.

 

She makes the smallest, most wondrous smile. Then before he’s caught up, he feels her hands fumbling with his trousers. “Then show me.”

 

“Force, yes,” he growls as he tugs off his boots. He pauses with his hands at his waist. “You’re sure?”

 

Rey rolls her eyes then derails his brain completely as she palms his length in her small hand. “I’m sure.”

 

Not needing to be told twice, he shucks his trousers and stands before her entirely nude.

 

Her eyes fly open and it’s his turn to feel the need to cover himself. But then she makes an almost sly smile. “I knew when I saw you through the Force that you’re beautiful, but Ben … you’re the one who’s perfect.”

 

Her admiring gaze pushes away his fear and he stands just a bit taller before he takes in a deep breath. Slowly, he draws her to him. He wants to savor what her skin feels like for the first time. She seems to understand what he’s doing and she matches his pace. Time goes on forever, but then it’s like he’s been slammed in the chest when he feels the humming rightness of Rey’s naked body against his own.

 

Together, they both murmur, “Oh …” Their breathing grows shallow and neither of them can speak. He’s never known anything so utterly transporting as Rey’s silken skin pressed to his. He can’t even imagine how anything could ever feel better than this.

 

It’s as if there’s an energy pulsing beneath their flesh, merging them, binding them. He knows he will only ever feel truly whole when he’s naked with his beloved Rey. He may not have been able to tell her precisely. But he knows. He knows that he loves her.

 

Trying to keep her close, he walks them back to the bed and she pushes him down. Swiftly, they scrabble to tangle together on their sides. His length is pressed against her belly and he slings his long leg over hers.

 

Wrapped together like this, they hold each other’s eyes. He feels like he’s being pulled deep into her soul and he strokes her cheek with his thumb then cards his fingers through her hair. When he reaches the strip of leather holding half of her hair back, he fumbles a bit and then it’s free.

 

The glossy texture of her tresses hold his attention for a moment as he keeps drawing his fingers through her waves. “Everything about you fascinates me,” he rumbles.

 

Her own hands dive into his hair and she giggles lightly. “I’ve dreamed of touching your hair.”

 

“I’ve dreamed of touching you _everywhere_.”

 

One side of her mouth quirks up and she slowly takes his hand and moves it down her body. At first he thinks she’s inviting him to again enjoy her breasts, but she keeps pulling his fingers down, down, down.

 

For a moment all he can do is settle his hand on her mound of soft curls. She’s hot under his fingers and then she starts to push against his fingers, making a pleading sound.

 

Holding her eyes for a moment, he waits for her nod. His fingers tremble as he finds his bearings. “Oh _Maker_ ,” he groans as he slides between her folds. She’s so slick and warm ... he wants to part her thighs and _see_ , but her eyes are holding him too intensely.

 

The last thing he wants to do is hurt her and he remembers reading somewhere that women need to be prepared. But … he doesn’t really know what that _means_. Panic begins to take him over. He’s going to disappoint her, he just knows he will.

 

“Shhh, like this,” she murmurs, clearly understanding his predicament.

 

Gently, she presses one of his fingers inside her. For a moment his vision goes hazy as he feels her glorious tightness for the first time. He drags his finger out and presses back inside, feeling her fingers grasping at his shoulder.

 

Her face is absolutely _mesmerizing_. She’s making these short little pants each time he thrusts his finger within her and her succulent lips part.

 

“Another, please add another,” she entreats and he quickly complies.

 

The stretch around his fingers is _amazing_. She’s somehow the softest thing he’s ever felt while she’s pressing down on him so hard. How is he going to control himself when he’s inside her? The way her eyes widen, how her hips meet his hand … he’s never felt so trusted in all his life.

 

“Use your thumb,” she pants.

 

His lips purse slightly. How? What is he supposed to do with his thumb? She smiles gently and pulls his hand from her depths and draws them to a hard little nub of flesh, encouraging him to make small circles.

 

As soon as he does, she cries out and her fingers dig into his arm. “Yes! Like that!”

 

Then he finally understands what she’d meant and he twists his hand and begins to rub at this marvelous new discovery with his thumb. Two fingers slip back into her easily and his fears of hurting her begin to recede. Her body is clearly becoming ready to take him.

 

“Faster,” she whispers harshly and he speeds up his thumb.

 

Rey is growing more flushed and she’s getting _loud_. Responding to her increased excitement, he feels a twist of pleasure each time she cries out. He begins to grind his cock against her, needing the friction, needing any kind of relief as she starts chanting his name.

 

Oh, hearing his name on her lips, knowing that _he_ is the one making her feel like this makes him begin to moan with her. Yes, gods, yes! She’s shuddering and writhing beneath his hand and this wondrous bud grows harder.

 

Suddenly, she grabs his face and kisses him fiercely, her moans reverberating through them both as she bucks her hips hard. Then she stills and he’s not sure what to do. He keeps rubbing her but then she shakes her head. “Too sensitive,” she says into his lips.

 

She wraps her arms around him and he gathers her closely as her breathing calms. The intensity of her climax has him in a fog and he almost feels as if he joined her. But his erection continues to twitch insistently.

 

Pulling back slightly, she gives Ben a languid smile. “I’m ready.”

 

“Ready?” he chokes out. Oh. This is it. This is happening. Frowning slightly he says, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

 

“You won’t.”

 

He’s startled when she pushes him on his back and straddles him in one swift motion. For a moment he’s confused, but then he puts it together. Of course. This way she can take him as she wants. He hadn’t considered that before, but the thought of Rey riding him makes him begin to undulate his hips beneath her.

 

Then she moves down slightly and he chokes out a groan at the feel of her wetness pulling along him. Moving his hands to her thighs, he starts to grind against her in earnest. Slowly, she moves back and forth, dragging her folds over his weeping cock. He thinks he might lose his mind, she just feels so _exquisite_.

 

One of her hands braces against his chest and she raises herself, with the other she grasps him, angling him towards her center. She finds his eyes and he feels held in place by the fire in her gaze.

 

With an agonizing, perfect pace, she begins to settle back onto him and a guttural groan is pulled from his throat, only growing louder as she slowly, so slowly, stretches to accommodate him.

 

“Rey,” he breathes out. Her expression is tight and his fingers flex into her thighs. “Are you alright?” he asks, alarmed at how her browns knit.

 

She bites her lip and nods quickly. Then he can’t worry about _anything_ because she takes the rest of him in one swift moment and they both cry out.

 

Blinking, they look into each other and all he can do is try to fathom that’s he’s inside Rey. Their bodies are merged and it’s almost like there’s a thread between their hearts, binding them together in a way he never could have understood.

 

“I didn’t know … I never knew,” he says with awe, reveling in how hot and slick she is. Somehow he knows that this, this is _sacred_.

 

“Neither did, I … Ben … you feel … I don’t have the words.” Then she’s begins to move and he’s utterly lost.

 

Nothing, nothing has ever felt so good, so right, so _sublime_ as she rocks back and forth on him, her hands digging into his chest. They never break eye contact and she begins to get that gorgeous flush again.

 

He wants to be even closer and he follows the path between them in the Force, the connection he’s only just beginning to understand how to navigate. Rey gives a slight resistance and he pleads, “Let me show you, let me show you how much I … how much I love you.”

 

All at once they begin to wind together in the Force and the sheer intensity of being one heart, one consciousness, one _soul_ overwhelms him. His eyes prick as tears gather under his lashes. There isn’t room within him to contain how deeply he wants, needs, and loves this woman.

 

Her hand wipes away his tears, then she leans over and kisses him, kisses him like this is forever, kisses him like she’s finally found her belonging. He knows, with every fiber of his being that nothing can sunder them, not after this.

 

The pleasure and pure emotion are gathering together and she begins to bear down on him more quickly, making his back arch as he thrusts up into her. Soon, they’re both groaning and panting, a slight sheen of sweat covering them.

 

“Oh my gods, Ben!” she calls out as he pulls her down onto him with particular force, going as deep as he can. It’s almost too much, the ecstasy she’s wringing from his core and the beauty she’s planting in his heart.

 

He needs to kiss her again, so he strains forward and finds her lips, trying with his body and the Force to make her _know_ who she is to him.

 

“I know, Ben, I know,” she sobs out. “I feel it, I feel it everywhere.”

 

He pulls back and finds that now she’s the one crying and it’s his turn to wipe her tears. He can feel through the Force and see in her eyes that she loves him back. He doesn’t need the words.

 

Her face grows determined and she speeds up to an almost punishing pace, jolting him forward. Oh, stars, he’s so close.

 

“Rey, I’m … I’m going to …” he warns.

 

“Please, please let me feel you. Let me give you what you gave me,” she nearly begs.

 

She twists her hips just so and that’s it. He babbles incoherently as he bucks up beneath her, holding her firmly against him. She holds on and he’s lost to the pleasure, roaring out her name as he fills her with his release.

 

Swiftly, he pulls her down so he can wrap her in his arms, only able to repeat, “I love you,” over and over into her neck.

 

They both breathe harshly as they come back into themselves. At first he hates the receding connection, but then he senses a low hum of Rey throughout all of him. This, their joining has bridged them fully.

 

Through this much more powerful link he begins to get waves of Rey’s feelings. There’s trepidation, blissful satisfaction, and a nervousness that deeply concerns him.

 

He pulls back so he can see her face. Her eyes find his swiftly and her expression is open but her eyes still hold a tinge of fear.

 

“Rey, oh, my love, what is it?” He can’t bear it if she regrets this life-changing experience.

 

Her lips tremble and he hears through the Force, so soft, gentle, and hesitant, “I love you.”

 

He smiles widely as he realizes they truly aren’t alone.

 

They’ll never be alone again.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for this giftfic for PoppiWillow! Thank you all for reading this little bonbon of fluff and smut!


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